Google's Android powered nearly 85 percent of all smartphones shipped around the world in the second quarter of 2014, according to IDC. Add in Apple's iOS, and the two mobile operating systems captured a competition strangling 96.4 percent share of the global market for the quarter.

But despite some gains, Microsoft's Windows Phone took a tumble during a quarter that saw it formally take on Nokia's handset business.

Smartphone makers shipped a record 301.3 million units in the quarter, up 25.3 percent from the 240.5 million devices shipped in the second quarter of 2013, IDC said in a Thursday report.

Leading the way were makers of Android smartphones, with 255.3 million units shipped, up from 191.5 million devices shipped a year ago and good for an 84.7 percent share of the overall global smartphone market.

Apple shipped 35.2 million iPhones running its iOS mobile operating system, representing 12.7 percent growth from the same period a year ago. Still, the faster pace at which Android phone makers are growing their businesses, particularly in markets like China, meant Apple wound up losing global market share in the second quarter of 2014, going from 13 percent a year ago to 11.7 percent this year.

"With many of its OEM partners focusing on the sub-$200 segments, Android has been reaping huge gains within emerging markets," IDC researcher Ramon Llamas said in a statement. "During the second quarter, 58.6 percent of all Android smartphone shipments worldwide cost less than $200 off contract, making them very attractive compared to other devices. With the recent introduction of Android One, in which Google offers reference designs below $100 to Android OEMs, the proportion of sub-$200 volumes will climb even higher."

IDC cautioned against reading too much into the decline in market share for iOS, however. The research firm noted that Apple's iPhone sales traditionally slip a bit in the second quarter due to anticipation for a new smartphone from Cupertino in the fall.

Meanwhile, the smartphone platform vendors jockeying for the fraction of the market left over by Android and Google included some familiar names. In the second quarter, Microsoft's Windows Phone was again the third-biggest in the world, but Redmond's global market share slipped from 3.4 percent a year ago to just 2.5 percent in 2014, while units shipped tumbled from 8.2 million to just 7.4 million.

IDC did point to some good signs for Windows Phone going forward, namely the expected addition later this year of smartphones running Microsoft's OS by several more OEMs in emerging markets.

BlackBerry's story was even more woeful going by the year-over-year numbers (see chart below), but IDC noted that the company's more targeted strategy is beginning to pay off with better quarter-to-quarter results.

"Following three consecutive quarters of sequential decline, BlackBerry volumes have rebounded slightly from the previous quarter, but remain 78 percent lower than shipment levels from a year ago," the research firm said. "In keeping with its strategy, BlackBerry saw improvement within one of its key markets, Asia-Pacific, as well as some gains among enterprise users within North America and Western Europe."

Other smartphone operating systems combined for just an 0.6 percent share of the global market in the second quarter, IDC said. These included Tizen, which hasn't been promoted very strongly by Samsung, still the biggest smartphone maker in the world, according to the research firm.

"It's been an incredible upward slog for other OS playersWindows Phone has been around since 2010 but has yet to break the 5 percent share mark, while the backing of the world's largest smartphone player, Samsung, has not boosted Tizen into the spotlight," IDC researcher Melissa Chau said.

"The biggest stumbling block is around getting enough partnerships in playnot just phone manufacturers but also developers, many of which are smaller outfits looking to minimize development efforts by sticking to the two big ecosystems."

About the Author

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Ch... See Full Bio

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